A former Fiji resident Rohit Singh was recently recognised by the California Legislature Assembly for being the first Fiji-born Indian professional heavyweight champion in the world.
A certificate, gold medal and trophy were presented to him on May 17 in the US.
The certificate signed by the California Legislature Assembly member 61 Jose Medina is in the honour of the 2015 Legends of Boxing Induction Ceremony.
It reads “On behalf of the California State Assembly, it is my privilege to present you with this certificate for becoming the first Indian heavyweight boxing champion in the world. I commend you for your courage, dedication, and for being a leader of the boxing community. Congratulations.”
Singh is originally Lautoka and took up martial arts at the age of seven and turned to boxing at the age of 20.
On his http://boxerrohitsingh.weebly.com website, Singh claims to have fought 19 times, recording 18 wins via knockouts and a no contest.
However his record on boxrec.com shows a total of nine bouts, eight wins (six by knockout, two by technical knockout) and being a no contest.
And his only 12 round fight was against Iobe Ledua on September 7, 2012 for the World Boxing Federation Asia Pacific heavyweight title in Cha-am, Petchaburi, Thailand which he won via a first round knockout.
The title is now held by Zhang Junlong of China.
Recent Fight
Singh fought Ruben Rodriguez in Mexico.
The venue, Club Deportivo De Basquet Bol Veteranos, Guasave, Sinaloa; the date, 28 March 2015.
The ten bout program did not feature any big names with five 6 round contest, four 4 round contest and an eight round contest.
Singh in his words said, “It was tough fight for me and the opponent was very good.
“He weighed 124 kilograms. I was very fit and strong and I knocked him down in the 4th round. He went down from my left hook to his jaw and my right uppercut to his face.
“He flew out of the ring, then the referee counted and the boxer didn’t get up. So I won the fight by technical knockout. I’m the only professional Indian heavyweight champion of the world and until now undefeated.”
According to boxrec.com the fight ended in 1.36 minutes of the fourth round following a technical knockout.
Singh at that time was up on all of the judges’ score cards: Guillermo Yin 30-26, Ricardo Villalobos 30-26, Gustavo Sepulveda 30-26.
His opponent Rodriguez of Mexico aged 29 and also known as El Trol had only fought twice previously, both bouts in 2012. He currently holds a heavyweight world ranking of 850 while Singh is ranked 351.
Despite not facing any big name boxers in his career, Singh who is dubbed as the KO King was listed on the World Boxing Organisation Asia Pacific heavyweight ranking as number 11 earlier this year.
He has dropped out of the top 12 rankings this month.
According to boxrec.com, Singh is an orthodox boxer from South Auckland and is ranked number eight in New Zealand.
Joseph Parker, a 23-year-old is the champion in the Land of the Long White Clouds with Chiefs Super Rugby second rower Sonny Bill Williams listed at number two.
Singh said, “The American Sports University honoured me with a $5000 scholarship. Next month I will be fighting again for a title in the United States.So at the moment I’m training hard.
I challenge Joseph Parker to fight me anytime. My goal is to become a world heavyweight boxing champion. If you believe it then you can achieve it.”
New Zealand National Boxing Federation (NZNBF) official Faiyaz Khan said Singh always chose his opponent.
Ali who officiated Singh’s four-round bout against Maruf Ali at the ABA Stadium, Auckland in 2012 said Singh needed to box against some real fighters so NZNBF could measure him.
“As far as NZNBF goes, we have not given Rohit a fight as he chooses,” he said.
“Rohit has not fought any one real here at the moment and about going to the United States and fighting, I would ask who and what ranked boxer. So my views are if he fights some real fighters then only the NZNBF will measure him.
“He could appear in the next program in Fiji against Fatu Tuimanono or Tongan, Napoleon Taumoepeau so we can see what he is like.”
Wladimir Klitschko alias Doctor Steelhammer from Ukraine who is the world number one holds the World Boxing super heavyweight title, World Boxing Organisation heavyweight title, International Boxing Federation heavyweight title and the International Boxing Organisation heavyweight title. Singh has an ambition to become a world champion but faces a steep challenge. He has challenged New Zealand’s number one Joseph, ranked 22 in the world but will have to earn that right.
“I want to encourage boxers in Fiji to train hard and show the world that Fijians can excel in boxing or any other sports,” Singh added.
